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On Nate Robinson and the Celtics
Link|Comments ()Posted by Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff January 20, 2010 05:20 PM
Here's what we know:
The Celtics have made an offer to the Knicks for guard Nate Robinson, this according to Yahoo! Sports (and former Boston Globe) NBA writer Marc J. Spears. Spears made this revelation during an interview with Tanguay and Zolak on 98.5 The Sports Hub yesterday.
Marc tends to break these things, and he's as reliable a source on the NBA as there is. But what he wasn't doing yesterday was making any proclamations that a deal is imminent. In fact, Spears technically "broke" this story in a column he wrote last Friday for Yahoo!. Even Spears himself seemed surprised the story was getting the attention it got yesterday and today, tweeting the link to the story this afternoon. He writes:
The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams who have expressed some interest in New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson(notes), league sources said. Robinson’s base-year status, however, makes it difficult for any trade and the Knicks are said to be reluctant to ship Robinson to an Eastern Conference team, further complicating the Celtics’ efforts to land him.
The Memphis Grizzlies also have shown interest in Robinson, but the feeling, for now, isn’t mutual. Robinson can veto any trade and doesn’t appear eager to move to Memphis.
So we know the Celtics have kicked the tires on Robinson, which is definitely interesting considering his issues with the Knicks this season. Robinson was benched for a month because of a disagreement with coach Mike D'Antoni but came back to score 42 points against the Hawks on New Years Day. Robinson also has a very reasonable salary, one-year at $ 4 million, making him attractive to other teams if indeed he is on the block.
Here's what else we know: According to the New York Daily News, Doc Rivers wouldn't mind getting the chance to coach Robinson.
"Doc thinks he can connect with anybody," a source close to Rivers told the News.
But we also know Rivers is a player's coach, and he probably really could coach anybody. As for details, such as the players sent to the Knicks, and when or if the deal may happen.
We don't know.